The annual Southwestern Monsoon has developed over the past week or so, bringing much needed rain to the parched landscape of the Sonoran and Chihuahuan Deserts, the Colorado Plateau and the Great Basin. While brief, heavy rain is typical of this weather pattern, regional flooding is especially severe this year.
Of course, climate change is fueling both the extreme drought and the destructive floods; the severe heat in the Pacific Northwest, torrential rains in the Southeast and catastrophic flooding in Germany also reflect the natural consequences of a warming climate. As wildfires rage across the Western U.S., the monsoon moisture will be welcomed but heavy rain over short periods of time may unleash mudslides and flash floods, especially within and near the burn scars.
Some effects of the monsoon are expected to reach the Colorado Front Range over the next few days, well ahead of schedule; August is generally the period of monsoon rains in this region, often extending into early September. Since we have enjoyed a wet spring and summer (to this point), we may also experience flooding in the foothill canyons and along tributaries of the South Platte River.
